Apparatus for winding and placing- coils
in the slots op a stator

ABSTRACT

APPARATUS FOR WINDING AND PLACING COILS IN THE SLOTS OF A STATOR COMPRISING A ROTARY INDEX TABLE CARRYING THREE SETS OF PLACER FINGERS SPACED AT 120* INTERVALS, EACH SET BEING ADAPTED TO HOLD A PLURALITY OF POLE WINDINGS FOR A STATOR. THE TABLE IS ADAPTED TO BE INDEXED SUCCESSIVELY TO BRING EACH SET OF PLACER FINGERS FROM A FIRST WINDING STATION TO A SECOND WINDING STATION, THENCE TO A PLACING STATION, AND THENCE BACK TO THE FIRST WINDING STATION, WITH A DWELL AT EACH STATION. AT EACH OF THE WINDING STATIONS, THERE IS PROVIDED A COIL WINDING AND TRANSFER MECHANISM INCLUDING A COIL FORM, A FLYER FOR WINDING COILS ON THE COIL FORM, AND MEANS FOR TRANSFERRING COILS FROM THE COIL FORM TO THE SET OF PLACER FINGERS AT THE RESPECTIVE WINDING STATION. EACH SET OF PLACER FINGERS IS INDEXABLE DURING ITS DWELL AT EACH WINDING STATION FOR RECEPTION OF SUCCESSIVE SETS OF COILS IN PROPER POSITION FOR PLACEMENT OF THE COILS IN THE STATOR.   AFTER THE WINDING OF COILS AND THEIR TRANSFER TO THE SET OF FINGERS AT THE FIRST WINDING STATION, THE TABLE IS INDEXED TO BRING THIS SET OF FINGERS WITH THE COILS THEREON TO THE SECOND WINDING STATION. AFTER THE WINDING OF ADDITIONAL COILS AND THEIR TRANSFER TO THE SET OF FINGERS AT THE SECOND STATION, THE TABLE IS INDEXED TO BRING THE SET OF FINGERS WITH THE COILS THEREON TO THE PLACING STATION, WHERE A STATOR IS PLACED ON THE FINGERS AND THE COILS ARE PUSHED INTO THE SLOTS OF THE STATOR. THE STATOR WITH THE COILS IN ITS SLOTS IS THEN REMOVED, AND THE TABLE INDEXED TO BRING THE SET OF FINGERS TO THE FIRST WINDING STATION TO START ANOTHER CYCLE.

July 30, 1974 u EI'AL Re. 28,087

APPARATUS FOR WINDING AND PLACING COILS IN THE SLOTS OF A STATOR Original Filed July 29, 1969 19 Sheets-Sheet 1 My 30, 1974 E. EI'AL Re. 28,087

APPARATUS FOR WINDING AND PLACING COILS IN THE SLOTS OF A STATOR Original Filed July 29, 1969 19 Sheets-Sheet I FIG. 2

July 30, 1974 D. E. HILL ETAL Re. 28,087

APPARATUS FOR WINDING AND PLACING COILS IN THE SLOTS OF A STA'I'OR Original Filed July 29, 1969 19 Sheets-Sheet 5 fi/f/ July 30, 1974 o. l-:. mu. ETAL Re. 28,087

APPARATUS POR WINDING AND PLACING COILS IN THE SLOTS Q]? A STATOR ori inal" mm July 29. 1969 19 Sheets-Sheet fj/q 5,6

FIGS

July 30, 1974 D. s. HILL ETAL Re. 28,087

APPARATUS FOR WINDING AND PLACING COILS 1961" THE SLOTS OF A STATOR l9 Sheets-Sheet 5 Original Filed July 29.

FIG. 6

July 30, 1974 E, ETAL Re. 28,087

APPARATUS FOR WINDING AND PLACING COILS IN THE SLOTS OF A STATOR Original Filed July 29. 1969 19 Sheets-Sheet 6 July 30, 1974 D E. HILL F-TAL Re. 28,087

APPARATUS FOR WIl'DING AND PLACING COILS IN THE SLOTS OF A STATOR Original Filed July 29. 1969 19 Sheets-Sheet 7 July 30, 1974 0.5. HILL ETAL Re. 28,087

APPARATUS I'OR WINDING AND PLACING COIL-S IN THE SLOTS OF A STATOR Original Filud July 29. 1969 1,9 Sheets-Sheet 8 mmk NN OI E; mg

w? mh July 30, 1974 D. E. HILL ETAL Re. 28,087

APPARATUS roa wmnma AND PLACING Corns m was SLOTS or A STATOR 1969 19 Sheets-Sheet 9 Original Filed July 29,

July 30, 1974 E, ETAL APPARATUS FOR WINDING AND PLACING COILS IN THE SLOTS OF A STATOR Original Filed July 29. 1969 19 Sheets-Sheet 1 0 mm m F Illl July 30, 1974 D. HILL ErAL Re. 28,087

APPARATUS FOR WINDING AND PLACING COILS III THE SLOTS OF A STATOR Original Filed July 29. 1969 19 Sheets-Sheet 11 FIG.19

July 30, 1974 o. E. HILL. ETAL Re. 28,087

APPARATUS yon wnwme AND PLACING cons m was SLOTS or A s'rA'ron l9 Sheets-Sheet 18 Original Filed July 29 July 30, 1974 o. E. HILL EI'AL Re. 28,087

APPARATUS FOR WINDING AND PLACING COILS Ill THE SLOTS OF A STATOR Oriana]. Filod July 29, 1969 1.9 Sheets-Sheet 13 July 30, 1974 E, HlLL ETAL APPARATUS r03 wnumm A ND PLACING COILS V IN THE SLOTS OF A S'I'A'I'OR Original Filed July 29. 1969 1,9 sheets 'iheet l July -30. 1914 E, HlLL ETAL APPARATUS you WINDING AND PLACING COILS IN THE SLOTS OF A STA'I'OR Original Filad July 29, 1969 19 Sheets-Sheet 15 m QNQE July 30, 1974 E, -m ETAL Re. 28,087

APPARATUS FOR WINDING AND PLACING COILS II THE SLOTS OF A S'XA'IOR Original Filed July 29, 1969 19 Sheets-Sheet 16 July 30, 1974 o. E. HILL EI'AL APPARATUS r03 WINDING Am) PLACING coILs IN THE SLOTS OF A STA'I'OR Original Filed July 29, 1969 19 Sheets-Sheet 1'? a QNQU Jilly 30, 1974 ETAL Arrluu'rus ron WINDING AND PLACING COILS III THE SLOTS 0? A STA'IOR Original Filed July 29. 1969 19 Sheets-Sheet 1 8 MNQI July 30, 1974 E, |LL ETAL APPARATUS FOR WINDING AND PLACING COILS IN THE SLOTS OF A STA'I'OR Original Filed July 29, 1969 19 SheetsSheet 19 United States Patent 28,087 APPARATUS FOR WINDING AND PLACING COILS IN THE SLOTS OF A STATOR Donald E. Hill and Stanley D. Payne, Fort Wayne, Ind., and Robert G. Walker, Brighton, Mich asslguors to Industra Products Inc., Fort Wayne, Ind.

Original No. 3,625,261, dated Dec. 7, 1971, Ser. No. 845,804, July 29, 1969. Application for reissue July 3, 1972, Ser. No. 268,864

Int. Cl. H02lr /00, 15/06 U.S. Cl. 29-205 D 26 Claims Matter enclosed in heavy brackets If] appears in the original patent but forms no part of this reissue specification; matter printed in italics indicates the additions made by reissue.

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus for winding and placing coils in the slots of a stator comprising a rotary index table carrying three sets of placer fingers spaced at 120 intervals, each set being adapted to hold a plurality of pole windings for a stator. The table is adapted to be indexed successively to bring each set of placer fingers from a first winding station to a second winding station, thence to a placing station, and thence back to the first winding station, with a dwell at each station. At each of the winding stations, there is provided a coil winding and transfer mechanism including a coil form, a flyer for winding coils on the coil form, and means for transferring coils from the coil form to the set of placer fingers at the respective winding station. Each set of placer fingers is indexable during its dwell at each winding station for reception of successive sets of coils in proper position for placement of the coils in the stator. After the winding of coils and their transfer to the set of fingers at the first winding station, the table is indexed to bring this set of fingers with the coils thereon to the second winding station. After the winding of additional coils and their transfer to the set of fingers at the second station, the table is indexed to bring the set of fingers with the coils thereon to the placing station, where a stator is placed on the fingers and the coils are pushed into the slots of the stator. The stator with the coils in its slots is then removed, and the table indexed to bring the set of fingers to the first winding station to start another cycle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to apparatus for winding and placing coils in the slots of a stator, e.g., the stator of an electric motor, alternator or the like, and more particularly to such apparatus for winding and placing various numbers of pole windings in the slots of a stator.

It will be understood that the stator of an electric motor conventionally has a circular bore (for the armature of the motor) and axially extending slots in radial planes extending out from the bore, coils of wire constituting the stator windings being lodged in the slots. The coils are generally disposed in groups each including a plurality of coils of different sizes, each group constituting an individual pole winding of the stator. Various approaches have been taken to the problem of providing the windings in the stator slots, including winding the coils directly in the slots, and prewinding the coils and placing the prewound coils in the slots. One example of the latter is found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,151,638, and reference may also be made to U.S. Pat. No. 3,324,536 showing apparatus for placing prewound coils in the slots by placing the coils on a set of fingers, applying a stator to the fingers, and pushing the coils off the fingers into the slots. A problem which has continued to exist is that of providing apparatus for efficiently winding and placing coils to provide various num bers of pole windings with high production rates and minimizing of manual operations. An example of such apparatus is found in our coassigned copending U.S. Pat. application, Ser. No. 791,704, filed Jan. 16, 1969, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,791,704, entitled Apparatus for Winding and Placing Coils in the Slots of a Stator, this apparatus being adapted for winding and placing two pole windings in the slots of a stator. While this apparatus has been quite successful for its intended purpose, it does not fill the need for apparatus for efficiently winding and placing coils to provide various numbers of pole windings, e.g., four main windings and four phase windings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Among the several objects of this invention may be noted the provision of improved apparatus for winding and placing coils of wire in the slots of a stator (e.g., an electric motor stator or alternators) to provide various numbers of pole windings for the stator, which efliciently carries out the operations of winding coils and placing them in the stator slots with a minimum of manual operations; the provision of such apparatus adapted simultaneously to place various numbers of windings, e.g., two, four, eight, etc. pole windings, in the slots of a stator; the provision of such apparatus adapted to carry out the winding of coils at a plurality of winding stations concurrently with the placing of coils in the slots of a stator at a placing station for high production rates; and the provision of such apparatus adapted for winding different wires into coils, e.g., a first wire for phase windings and a second wire for main windings, and placing the resultant coils in the slots of a stator.

In general, apparatus of this invention comprises an indexing conveyor, e.g., a rotary index table, carrying a plurality of placer heads, e.g., three placer heads each comprising a circular array of fingers, at spaced intervals thereon, each of these heads being adapted to hold coils for placement in the slots of a stator applied to the head. Means is provided for indexing the conveyor successively to move each placer head to each of a plurality of winding stations (two winding stations in the case of an indexing conveyor with three placer heads) and thence to a placing station. At each winding station is a coil winding and transfer mechanism comprising means for winding a wire into a coil and means for transferring the coil to the placer head at the respective winding station. Means is provided at the placing station for pushing coils from the placer head at the placing station into the slots of a stator applied to that placer head. The arrangement is such that, starting with any given placer head at the first winding station, coils wound at the latter may be transferred thereto, after which the conveyor may be indexed to bring that placer head with the coils thereon to the next winding station for transfer thereto of additional coils wound at the latter station, the placer head with its full complement of coils ultimately being indexed to the placing station where the coils are placed in the slots of a stator applied to the placer head at the placing station. Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevation of apparatus made in accordance with this invention, certain parts being broken away and certain parts being omitted;

FIG. 2 is a horizontal section on line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal section on line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a semidiagrammatic view illustrating a typical stator with four phase windings and four main windings placed therein;

FIG. 5 is a view partly in elevation and partly in section showing a placer head of the apparatus; 

